A conventional ratchet wrench is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,532 and comprises a handle having a head provided thereon and an internal gear is provided in the head. A recess is defined in the head. The head has a control hole defined in the top thereof and an engaging portion on the underside of the head. A pawl is pivotally secured in the recess and has teeth on two ends thereof which are selectively actuated to act onto the internal gear. A shaft is rotatable received in the control hole and includes a spring-biased projection engaged with said pawl for selectively actuating either of the ends of the pawl to engage with the internal gear. The upper portion of the shaft includes an opening so as to accommodate the spring and the end pieces which are biased against the back of the pawl. By rotating the shaft, the teeth of the pawl are engaged with the internal gear to control the operation direction of the wrench.
However, the pawl located in the recess does not have any assistant force to support the pawl so that when rotating the wrench, the torque reacted from the object is transferred to the pawl and the shaft. The shaft is thin and easily broken.
The recess is defined transversely so that it requires a lot of steps to make the recess in the head.
The control shaft is located in the control hole pawl and has an operation portion located above the driving head for the user to shift, the operation portion is located only on one side of the head and is not convenient for the users.